


Song of the Siren

by Lastly



Series: Lastly's DoroPetra Week 2020 Entries [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Doropetra Week (Fire Emblem), Doropetra Week 2020, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23429986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastly/pseuds/Lastly
Summary: Captain Petra is one of the most well known ships-for-hire on all the seas. On an otherwise routine trip to escort a merchant vessel to port, she encounters an interesting problem...DoroPetra Week Day 4 - Sea
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary
Series: Lastly's DoroPetra Week 2020 Entries [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683448
Kudos: 18
Collections: Doropetra Week 2020





	Song of the Siren

Captain Petra sat in her quarters and looked over the contract one more time. She regretted how hastily she had signed on to escort one of the Hresvelg Shipping Company's largest ships. Sure, the pay was great but she really should have checked the fine print of the contract by now. But it was too late, as they were already nearly at their destination so at this point she just needed to know what she was in for. She paused for a moment and looked up from the papers. She was certain she had heard something unusual. She listened carefully and tried to hear through the sounds of the water and the creaks of her ship. When she realized what it was, she rushed out of her cabin onto the main deck of the ship and called out to her crew.

"Cut the sails! Drop the anchor! Tell the Hresvelg's ship to do the same! And where's my damned First Mate!"

"I'm up here, Captain!" Sylvain poked his head out over the railing above the door to the Captain's Quarters. He was up at the Helmsman's position handling the Captain's duties while Petra was inside. She hurried up the steps to meet him.

"Why didn't you stop the boat sooner, ya fool!" she slapped him on the back, somewhat in jest but also somewhat seriously.

"Why would we stop now? We're nearly to port, Captain."

"Aye, we are. And do you hear that?" she paused and cupped a hand around her ear. It was faint but when she focused, she heard it clearly. Sylvain stared at her and did the same but didn't seem able to hear whatever it was she did.

"It's the song of a siren, ya fool! She'll draw us in to the rocks and sink us!" she slapped her First Mate on the shoulder again. Sylvain strained and listened closer and eventually could faintly hear the most beautiful voice he had ever heard singing a sad song.

"Well then what do we do? I can't say I've ever had to deal with a siren before, Captain."

"Prepare a rowboat for me. You lot all stay here, I'll take care of this myself." she drew the saber she wore on her hip and checked to make sure the blade was sharp and clean and, happy with the state of her sword, sheathed it again.

Captain Petra climbed into one of the ship's two rowboats and had her crew lower her down to the water.

"Are you sure about this, Captain? Shouldn't we send someone with you?" Sylvain called down to her.

"Listen to the singing, Sylvain. It's only one siren. I'll be able to handle her myself." Petra replied as she disconnected the ropes that tethered her to the ship. "Just wait here. I'll be back soon and then we'll be on our way."

Luckily, the water was quite still today so even though it was a fair bit of distance to row she didn't have much of a problem getting there. With each little bit closer she got, she could hear the gorgeous singing more and more clearly. If she didn't know how deadly a song could be, she would have wanted to stay and listen forever.

As she approached the rocks, she looked into the water. The rocks she was headed towards didn't look particularly dangerous on their own but it was clear that not far beneath the water's surface there were sharp and jagged rocks that would tear apart the hull of even the sturdiest of ships. She carefully navigated to a point where she could tie up her rowboat and climb out and made her way onto the rocks.

Petra kept a firm grip on the handle of her saber as she started to explore the rocks to try and find the source of the singing. She turned a corner around a particularly large rock and came to quite a sight. The siren was possibly the most beautiful being she had ever seen. She was tall with long brown hair and deep green eyes. She seemed to mostly take the form of a human but with the clawed feet of a bird of prey and a pair of large feathered wings on her back. The siren's singing stopped as soon as the pair met.

"Oh, a visitor." the siren said.

"Aye. I'm, uh..." Petra found herself scrambling for words. She was normally quite confident around attractive women but something about this encounter seemed much deeper and more serious than the barmaids she usually flirted with. Her grip on her saber loosened a bit as she continued. "I'm the captain of a ship and..."

After a pause, the siren smiled and tilted her head. "And?"

"I... was wondering why you sing. Your voice is so beautiful but... but it draws sailors to their death."

"Is it wrong that I should want to sing? I enjoy it. It helps me to keep the loneliness at bay. I do so wish that someone would come and sit with me while I sing..."

"I will sit with you." Petra felt her mouth moving before she could even consider saying something else. She shook herself out of her daze and spat out a slightly more thought-out answer. "I- I mean that... I mean if you let my ships pass and go to port, then I'll stay here and sit with you a while."

"You would? That would be lovely, Captain. Your ships may pass, so long as you come right back to me." The siren smiled as Petra's hand drifted away from her saber entirely.

"I'll... I'll go tell them. And then I'll return immediately." Petra slowly turned to go back to her rowboat but found it difficult to take her eyes off the siren. "I'm Petra, by the way. Petra Macneary." she said just before she turned the corner back to her boat.

"And I am Dorothea. It is nice to meet you, Captain Petra Macneary." The siren replied. Petra got lost in her gaze for a moment. Her eyes seemed so sad that it was clear to Petra that Dorothea was telling the truth about being lonely. It seemed that her singing entrancing passing sailors was an unintended side effect.

Petra made her way back to her rowboat, climbed aboard, and rowed back to her ship. All along the way, she couldn't stop thinking about Dorothea. She had felt some kind of connection with the siren. She wanted to stay on the rocks not just to keep her ship and crew safe but because she genuinely wanted to make the siren happy. When she returned to her ship, Sylvain and several other crew members were leaning over the railing, waiting eagerly for their captain to return.

"Sylvain, I'm going back to the rocks and once I'm there you're to lead the ships to port." she called up to them. One of the crew members had tossed a rope down to her but she immediately threw it back up to them. "Tomorrow morning, I want you to come back out here and pick me up."

"But Captain-"

"No buts! Just do as I tell ya!"

"Yes, Captain."

"Oh and Sylvain. Do you remember what I said would happen if you ever try to steal my ship?" Sylvain faltered for a moment at the odd question but was able to respond because it was nearly impossible for him to forget what the captain had said all those years ago when he first came on as First Mate.

"Gut me and fly my skin like a flag?"

"Aye." Petra stared at Sylvain for a moment and then sat back down in her rowboat. "Tomorrow morning, Sylvain!"

"Yes, Captain. We'll be here at sunrise."

* * *

Sylvain checked his pocket watch and then checked the sky to see where the sun was. His watch was correct: it was nearly noon but there was still no sign of Captain Macneary. He used his spyglass to check the rocks that she had gone too and saw that her rowboat was still there. He was starting to worry that perhaps the siren had gotten the better of the captain. With a sigh, he ordered the crew to ready the ship's second rowboat. He climbed aboard and set off to look for the captain.

When he arrived at the rocks, he checked the captain's rowboat. She had left her saber and her flintlock pistol aboard the boat but there were no other signs of her there. If she had gone in unarmed... he started to worry more that perhaps the captain was no more. He picked up the captain's saber and climbed out onto the rocks and began carefully exploring.

"Captain!" he called out and was met with silence. "Captain Macneary! Are you okay!"

He slowly made his way around, holding the saber out in front of him, until the captain suddenly appeared from around one of the larger rocks in the outcropping. She was wrapped up in a blanket and seemed surprised to see him there.

"Sylvain? What are you doing here."

"Captain! It's nearly noon! You wanted me here at sunrise and I-"

"Oh, right. Um." Petra glanced over her shoulder, back behind the rock. Sylvain couldn't see who or what she was looking at and was feeling very unsure as to what was going on. "Could you come back tomorrow?"

" _Tomorrow?_ But Captain-"

"I'm busy, Sylvain. Give the crew shore leave for a day." She glanced back over her shoulder again. "Actually, you've all got leave for a couple of days. I'll come find you when I'm done here."

"What's going on, Captain? Why are you-" Sylvain was interrupted once again but, this time, it wasn't the Captain that interrupted him. It was a sweet-sounding voice coming from somewhere else around the rocks.

"Captain Petra? Won't you come back?"

Sylvain suddenly realized what was going on.

"Captain!" he said in a harsh whisper. "You've fallen under the siren's trance! You must come back with me!"

"Sylvain, I promise you that I am fine." she put a hand on his shoulder to try and reassure him. "I am not under any kind of trance or sorcery, I swear it. Just head back and buy the crew a few rounds of ale, on me."

Sylvain stared at his captain for a moment but decided to trust her. In the years he had spent as her first mate, she had never once lead him astray. He turned and made his way back to the rowboats and and started to row his way back to the ship. He paused for a moment and listened carefully and was sure he could hear some faint singing again. It was definitely the same voice he had heard the day before but the song seemed different this time. Yesterday, it sounded like a mournful song of longing. But this was something that sounded more like a happy and content tune. Perhaps the siren had found what she was looking for.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey I actually posted one of these on time for once. I really liked this one so I hope y'alls enjoy it too!!


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